"I'm going to bike 10 miles every day for 30 days. That's a big commitment but I'm a patient at Lyon-Martin and this clinic and my community's health is important to me." -- Sabrina Alonso.

San Francisco, August 24, 2011: Lyon-Martin Heath Services and Save Lyon-Martin are thrilled to kick off our first annual 30 Days of Health campaign. A fun, interactive way to raise money for our beloved community clinic, 30 Days of Health has the goal to raise $150,000 so that the clinic may thrive into the year's end.

30 Days of Health has a simple premise: participants choose a health-related goal for the month of September and recruit supporters to help them reach that goal. Each participant pays $10 to register and commits to raising a minimum of $300, although some have aimed as high as $5000. These health goals can be anything from doing yoga or learning a new sport or skill, to quitting smoking or taking vitamins. Participants can reach a specific fitness goal or even volunteer to help benefit the health or wellbeing of others.

All funds raise go directly to Lyon-Martin Health Services and participants are strongly encouraged to form teams and spread the word.

As the Bay Area community may know, Lyon-Martin has had a very trying year and came close to shutting its clinic's doors in January. With tremendous community support, sparked by organizers who formed the grassroots organization Save Lyon-Martin, over half a million dollars was raised to keep the clinic open and operating, a testament to San Francisco's dedication to providing quality health care to marginalized communities. Since January, community members have spearheaded the re-structuring and revitalization of Lyon-Martin, and the clinic is finally beginning to stabilize. 30 Days of Health is Lyon-Martin's campaign to continue community fundraising and support to ensure the clinic stays open for years to come.

About Lyon-Martin Health Services:Lyon-Martin Health Services was founded in 1979 by a group of medical providers and health activists as clinic for lesbians who lacked access to nonjudgmental, affordable health care. Named after Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, feminists and well-known LGBTQ civil rights activists, the clinic soon became a model for culturally sensitive community-based health care.

Since 1993, Lyon-Martin also has provided case management and primary healthcare in programs specifically designed for very low-income and uninsured women with HIV. In 2007, the organization added sliding-scale mental health services..

Today, our mission is to provide excellent health care to women and transgender people in a safe and compassionate environment with sensitivity to sexual and gender identity; services are provided regardless of ability to pay. Lyon-Martin provides services to approximately 2500 patients. Currently, 77% of our patients are uninsured and 70% live below 200% of the federal poverty level; 43% of our patients are people of color; 21% are transgender and 42% self-identify as lesbian or bisexual. Fifty-eight percent of our patients' appointments address mental health needs.